Water bottles are well known in the art, and generally consist of a compressible water reservoir having a bottle neck to which a nozzle or cap is coupled. Many different water bottle designs have been developed over the years for numerous purposes. Recently, there has been a significant increase in demand for bottled water, and it is known to incorporate a filtration device within a water bottle.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,759 to Nohren Jr. teaches a water bottle having a tube of filtering material with porous side walls coupled to a cap, the filter material being inserted through an open neck of the bottle. One problem is Nohren's filter tube must be relatively long and/or contain very little filter material in order to pass through the opening of the water bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,460 to Palmer teaches another water bottle having an filter permanently secured to the neck portion of the bottle. Palmer's bottle also includes an opening in the bottom of the bottle through which water may be added. A major problem with the Palmer design is that the bottle must be turned upside down for adding water, and since the filter is permanently secured to the interior of the bottle, the entire bottle must be replaced each time the filter is expended.
Nohren and Palmer and all other extrinsic materials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Thus, there is still a need for a multi-compartment bottle having a replaceable filter.